Written Answers Wednesday 27 January 2010

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support and advice it will give to farmers whose farm buildings have collapsed or been damaged as a result of recent adverse weather conditions.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has set up a technical working group to assess the extent and impact of collapsed buildings on agricultural and horticultural businesses. The working group will have its first meeting on 28 January 2010 and I look forward to receiving its findings shortly.

Alcohol

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider introducing mandatory statutory consultation and limit changes to once every six months for proposed bus timetable changes.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has no plans at this time to amend the regulations governing changes to bus timetables.

Alcohol

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of alcohol poisoning there were in the Lothians region in 2009, broken down by hospital.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-22375 on 20 April 2009, which contains the most recent information available.

  Data for the financial year 2008-09 will be released on 23 February 2010, on the Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland website. Hospital admissions data will be available on request after publication.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Allotments (Scotland) Act 1950

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30502 by John Swinney on 15 January 2010, whether a local authority that has requested payment of allotment rents from its tenants using rules or devices that have not been formally confirmed by the Scottish Ministers is liable to prosecution.

John Swinney: Section 6 of the Allotments (Scotland) Act 1892 provides that a local authority may from time to time make, revoke and vary such regulations as appear to be necessary or proper for the letting of allotments (including provision in relation to the rental to be paid for allotments). However, any regulations made by a local authority shall not be in force unless and until they have been confirmed by Scottish ministers, after such publication and inquiry as ministers shall determine. Therefore, any local authority that makes regulations without obtaining confirmation from ministers, have no effect. There is no offence provision in the Allotments (Scotland) Act 1892 in relation to a local authority making regulations without confirmation from ministers.

Allotments (Scotland) Act 1950

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a local authority that requires its tenants to pay more than 25% of allotment rents in advance, contrary to section 10(2) of the Allotments (Scotland) Act 1950, is liable to prosecution.

John Swinney: It would be for the tenants concerned to seek legal advice based on their own circumstances and to consider, in the light of that, whether there is a case to answer.

Allotments (Scotland) Act 1950

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a local authority has been prosecuted for breaches of the allotments legislation since 1950.

John Swinney: I am not aware of any prosecutions under this legislation.

Central Heating

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of each measure, including central heating installations, has been accessed at Stage Four of the Energy Assistance Package, broken down by local authority area.

Alex Neil: The following table provides an analysis of physical measures completed as a result of referrals to Stage 4, to end November 2009.

  To the end of November the Energy Assistance Package has delivered 5,138 heating system measures.

  Four thousand, one hundred and forty one of these were carried forward to necessarily complete applications made under the previous programme.

  Nine hundred and ninety-seven are installations arising from referrals so far this year to stage 4.

  

 
Cavity Wall Insulation
Loft Insulation <60mm
Loft Top-up
Internal Insulation
External Insulation
Draught Proofing
Boiler Replacement
Central Heating System


Aberdeen City
2
5
4
0
0
3
4
22


Aberdeenshire
1
2
5
0
0
1
5
23


Angus
5
5
7
0
0
2
2
19


Argyll and Bute
1
3
2
0
0
2
3
14


Clackmannanshire
1
2
1
0
0
2
0
6


Dumfries and Galloway
2
7
2
0
0
5
9
38


Dundee City 
2
9
10
0
0
2
6
51


East Ayrshire
2
6
5
0
0
7
5
24


East Dunbartonshire
0
6
2
0
0
2
1
24


East Lothian
0
2
2
0
0
1
0
10


East Renfrewshire
1
5
2
0
0
6
1
20


Edinburgh, City of
2
15
11
0
0
18
3
64


Eilean Siar
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1


Falkirk 
2
8
6
0
0
5
1
35


Fife 
2
12
8
0
0
13
4
55


Glasgow City
4
18
17
0
0
23
11
91


Highland
0
3
3
0
0
4
4
24


Inverclyde
2
3
2
0
0
0
0
22


Midlothian
0
3
3
0
0
2
2
11


Moray
0
2
4
0
0
3
5
15


North Ayrshire
0
6
8
0
0
6
2
22


North Lanarkshire
7
15
15
0
0
22
7
80


Orkney Islands
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
3


Perth and Kinross
0
9
4
0
0
4
5
25


Renfrewshire
3
6
8
0
0
12
4
40


Scottish Borders
0
5
2
0
0
3
2
14


Shetland Islands
1
2
0
0
0
1
1
2


South Ayrshire
3
8
5
0
0
7
1
34


South Lanarkshire
2
17
19
0
0
20
11
71


Stirling
0
4
3
0
0
0
2
11


West Dunbartonshire
2
3
1
0
0
1
2
11


West Lothian
1
4
3
0
0
1
1
11


All Scotland
48
195
166
0
0
178
104
893

Central Heating

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27263 by Alex Neil on 23 September 2009, when the review of services providing advice to people on uptake of benefits will be published.

Alex Neil: It is expected that the review will be published in March 2010.

Central Heating

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-29731 by Alex Neil on 18 December 2009, how many households have unsuccessfully applied for support from the Energy Assistance Package in 2009-10, broken down by local authority area.

Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-30247 on 22 January 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Central Heating

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged 75 or over have had a central heating system installed under the Energy Assistance Package.

Alex Neil: By the end of November, at least 2,438 households with a person over the age of 75 had central heating systems installed. Of these, 1,977 were households with a person over the age of 80, carried forward to complete the previous programme.

Central Heating

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications there have been from people aged 75 or over for central heating under the Energy Assistance Package.

Alex Neil: Callers to the Energy Assistance Package helpline do not make an application for a particular measure. Where appropriate, the local energy adviser takes them through an assessment to determine their eligibility for each of the four stages of the package.

  As of end November 2009 1,978 households including a person aged 75 and over have been referred for stage 4 measures through the EAP. In addition, 1,977 households with persons over 80 had been carried forward to complete the previous programme.

Community Councils

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has provided to the Association of Scottish Community Councils in each of the last five years.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government provided funding to the association at the following levels:

  

2005-06
£25,000


2006-07
£25,438


2007-08
£25,000


2008-09
£35,000


2009-10
£50,000*



  Note: *Inclusive of £15,000 capped match funding on income generated by the association.

Community Councils

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what objectives and outcomes it has set the Association of Scottish Community Councils for the next three years.

John Swinney: The association are required to submit a three year funding bid which sets out the outcomes and objectives the association wish to take forward. The current funding bid is for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. Funding to the association for 2010-11 is due to be reviewed shortly and the objectives and outcomes outlined in the funding bid will be considered and agreed at that point, in line with the level of funding awarded.

Community Councils

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Association of Scottish Community Councils is obliged to hold an AGM as part of its outcomes and objectives agreed with the Scottish Government and what the reason is for the Scottish Government’s position on this matter.

John Swinney: The obligation to hold and report on their AGM is outlined in the association’s constitution.

Community Councils

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its funding to the Association of Scottish Community Councils (ASCC) is contingent on the ASCC holding an AGM, publishing certified accounts and being a registered charity under the oversight of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

John Swinney: No. However, the association added a company limited by guarantee to their existing structure to carry out operational work in April 2009 and are currently in the process of applying for charitable status.

  The obligation to hold and report on their AGM is outlined in the association’s constitution.

Community Councils

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the financial management of the Association of Scottish Community Councils with regard to public funding and which directorate is responsible.

John Swinney: Public Service Reform Directorate are responsible for management of the ongoing relationship with the Association. Scottish Government officials meet with the Association’s Board of Directors on a quarterly basis to monitor and discuss outcomes and objectives tied to the payment of their funding. Funding is released on a quarterly basis following these meetings.

Education

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in what alternative formats the Curriculum for Excellence has been published.

Michael Russell: All Curriculum for Excellence guidance is published on the Curriculum for Excellence website, which is designed to be accessible and includes an option to view materials in a larger font size. The full set of experiences and outcomes were published in printed format, and distributed to all teachers, in response to feedback; some key documents such as Building the Curriculum 3 - a framework for learning and teaching have also been printed.

  We are publishing the experiences and outcomes in Gaelic, which will be available by the school year 2010-11.

  Publication of guidance on the website ensures its availability to all practitioners, and material is regularly updated.

First Minister

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions since May 2007 the First Minister has arrived more than half an hour late for a public engagement.

John Swinney: Under successive administrations it has not been customary to keep a record of arrival times at events by the First Minister.

First Minister

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the First Minister was over two hours late for the opening of the latest stage of developments at Burns Cottage.

John Swinney: The First Minister was not late to this event. He arrived at 13:15, the arrival time agreed in advance with the organisers.

Forth Crossing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates has been spent on the Forth Replacement Crossing project.

Stewart Stevenson: Since December 2007, when I announced to Parliament the decision to proceed with a replacement bridge, approximately £43 million has been spent on the Forth Replacement Crossing project.

Forth Crossing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many compulsory purchase orders (a) have been and (b) are expected to be issued in connection with the Forth Replacement Crossing project.

Stewart Stevenson: No compulsory purchase orders have been or will be issued in connection with the Forth Replacement Crossing project. The Forth Crossing Bill will provide the necessary powers for the compulsory purchase or occupation of land required for the proposed scheme.

Forth Crossing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a visual impact report for the Forth Replacement Crossing project will be produced that includes gantry, road and associated developments.

Stewart Stevenson: A visual impact assessment which includes gantry, road and associated developments has been undertaken and is reported in Chapter 13 (Visual) of the Environmental Statement to the Forth Crossing Bill.

Forth Crossing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation meetings have been held with (a) MSPs, (b) consultants and (c) local groups since 16 July 2009 regarding the Forth Replacement Crossing project.

Stewart Stevenson: The Forth Replacement Crossing Consultation and Engagement Report published in November 2009 explains the approach to consultation and engagement that was adopted by Transport Scotland, how this was implemented and how feedback received through the programme of consultation was considered in the development of the FRC scheme. A copy of the report is available on the project website.

  The following table provides details of meetings held with MSPs, consultants (whom we have assumed to be Statutory Consultees such as local authorities, Scottish Natural Heritage and SEPA) and local groups, showing the event, topic/purpose dates.

  

Event
Topic/Purpose
Date


Echline Corner Consultative Alliance
Project update
29 September 2009


Dunfermline Coast Association of CCs
Project update
28 October 2009


Kirklison CC
Project update – noise, traffic and forthcoming activity
27 October 2009


Dundas Home Farm Residents
Project update – landscaping and mitigation 
October 2009


Echline Residents
Project update
October 2009


1-2-1 with George Foulkes MSP
Project update
6 October 2009


1-2-1 with Mary Mulligan MSP
Project update
19 October 2009


Margaret Smith MSP and constituents
Project update
28 October 2009


South East of Scotland Transport Partnership (SESTRAN)
Supporting Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change
29 October 2009


Queensferry and District CC
Uupdate – noise, traffic, Ferrymuir amendments and forthcoming activity
2 November 2009


Clufflat Residents
Project update
9 November 2009


Echline Corner Consultative Alliance
Project update
20 November 2009


Presentation to MSPs
Update and Bill overview
17 November 2009


Presentation to TICC
Update and Bill overview
17 November 2009


Society Road Residents 
Project update
November 2009


Springfield Residents
Project update 
16 November 2009


Scotstoun Park Residents Association 
Project update
25 November 2009


Clufflat Residents
Project update
17 December 2009


1-2-1 with Helen Eadie MSP
Project update 
19 January 2010

Forth Crossing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration has been given to proposals for a Forth crossings visitor centre at the site of the former Forth Bridges Motel.

Stewart Stevenson: None as yet.

  We are currently considering the location of a temporary visitor centre for training and organised visits during the currency of the work.

Forth Crossing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what further consultations it is planning in connection with the Forth Replacement Crossing project.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland, on behalf of the Scottish Government, continues to engage with the public, affected parties and stakeholders on matters relating to the design of the proposed scheme, and the provisions included in the Forth Crossing Bill and its accompanying documents.

Forth Crossing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what land is owned by Transport Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government in the vicinity of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland do not own any land on behalf of the Scottish Government, land is owned outright by the Scottish Ministers. Details of all land owned by Scottish ministers in the vicinity of the Forth Replacement Crossing can be found in the Book of Reference and the Maps, Plans and Sections submitted with the Forth Crossing Bill.

  The Book of Reference and the Maps, Plans and Sections are available to view on the project website and on the Scottish Parliament’s website http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/.

Forth Crossing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will address any further detailed objections to plans for the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Executive will engage with objectors once the objection period to the Forth Crossing Bill has concluded and objections have been published on the parliamentary website. Objections will be addressed by means of correspondence supplemented by offers to conduct meetings with objectors.

Forth Crossing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimated start and completion dates are of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Stewart Stevenson: We expect construction of the scheme to start following the award of the first construction contract in the spring of 2011, with completion expected by the end of 2016.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the Health Screening budget, as referred to on page 36 of Scotland’s Budget Documents 2010-11: Budget (Scotland) Bill Supporting Document , is distributed.

Nicola Sturgeon: The breakdown is as follows:

  

Programme
£ Million


Cancer Screening
4.454


Pregnancy and Newborn Screening
2.346


Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening
1.700

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the Health Screening draft budget for 2010-11 has been reduced by almost £5.7 million, which is 40% less than the 2009-10 budget, as referred to on page 36 of Scotland’s Budget Documents 2010-11: Budget (Scotland) Bill Supporting Document .

Nicola Sturgeon: The downward trend was always planned and this is due to the initial set up costs being funded in years 2008-09 and 2009-10 for some of the screening programmes including the introduction of two views screening into the Breast Screening Service.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the Health Protection draft budget for 2010-11 has been reduced by £8.8 million, which is 24% less than the 2009-10 budget, as referred to on page 36 of Scotland’s Budget Documents 2010-11: Budget (Scotland) Bill Supporting Document .

Nicola Sturgeon: The Health Protection budget covers a range of activities relating to promoting and protecting public health in Scotland.

  The reduction primarily represents efficiencies arising from utilising modern technologies in respect of key programmes reflecting an innovative and cost effective approach.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the Access Support for the NHS budget, as referred to on page 36 of Scotland’s Budget Documents 2010-11: Budget (Scotland) Bill Supporting Document , is distributed.

Nicola Sturgeon: The phasing of funding during any waiting time programme is to reflect the position of each NHS board in terms of (a) the number and length of patients waiting, (b) availability of key workforce, (c) the position of each board in terms of specialist (tertiary) work that it may perform for other boards and (d) proximity to facilities such as Golden Jubilee National Hospital and Stracathro.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the Access Support for the NHS draft budget for 2010 has been reduced by £48.5 million, which is 32% less than the 2009-10 budget, as referred to on page 36 of Scotland’s Budget Documents 2010-11: Budget (Scotland) Bill Supporting Document .

Nicola Sturgeon: The budget reduction of £48.5 million reflects a recurrent transfer to NHS boards of £28.5 million for waiting times support and savings of £20 million through efficiencies realised following a review of the processes and procedures underpinning the delivery of the access targets and taking account of progress achieved ahead of schedule.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the Improvement and Support of the NHS draft budget for 2010-11 has been reduced by £1.2 million, which is 6% less than the 2009-10 budget, as referred to on page 36 of Scotland’s Budget Documents 2010-11: Budget (Scotland) Bill Supporting Document .

Nicola Sturgeon: The budget for Improvement and Support of the NHS provides a range of programmes and resources designed to help NHS boards improve their performance through redesigning and streamlining processes. The budgets remain as previously planned. As a result of the improvement and support team transferring knowledge and skills in service improvement to NHS boards over the course of the spending review period a small reduction has been made in the latter years.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the Healthy Start budget, as referred to on page 36 of Scotland’s Budget Documents 2010-11: Budget (Scotland) Bill Supporting Document , is distributed.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Healthy Start programme in Scotland, is a statutory UK-wide demand-led scheme (formerly known as Welfare Foods). Pregnant women and families with children up to the age of four on certain benefits or tax credits can claim for the Healthy Start Scheme.

  The Scottish Government reimburse the Department of Health for the Scottish costs of the scheme. We also reimburse health boards for the cost of the Healthy Start vitamins issued free of charge to beneficiaries and additionally the budget funds the nursery milk scheme.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the Healthy Start draft budget for 2010-11 has been reduced by £1 million, which is 10% less than the 2009-10 budget, as referred to on page 36 of Scotland’s Budget Documents 2010-11: Budget (Scotland) Bill Supporting Document .

Nicola Sturgeon: Healthy Start is a UK reserved scheme and is part of the benefits system. The budget is demand led and has been amended to reflect the latest cost estimate.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the reduction in the Mental Health Legislation and Services draft budget for 2010-11 is fully accounted for by a transfer of £9.5 million to the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland budget, as referred to on pages 36 and 50 respectively of Scotland’s Budget Documents 2010-11: Budget (Scotland) Bill Supporting Document .

Nicola Sturgeon: The overall reduction is £9.7 million of which £9.5 million relates to the transfer to the Justice portfolio for the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland. The remaining £200,000 represents a contribution to local government in respect of the delivery of 10,000 additional respite weeks by 2010-11.

Health

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the UK Government’s announcement of £20 million of funding, what the Scottish Government is doing to help people disabled by the drug, thalidomide.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government will provide financial assistance to the survivors of thalidomide, proportionate to the package of assistance being provided by the UK Government. I am happy to confirm that I am meeting with representatives of the Thalidomide Trust in February to open discussions on the best way to allocate these additional funds.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the announcement by HM Government of £20 million for the Thalidomide Trust to support survivors of the effects of the drug, thalidomide, whether it plans to provide an equivalent contribution for survivors in Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government will make proportionate funding available to contribute to the package of assistance being provided by the UK Government. I am happy to confirm that I am meeting with representatives of the Thalidomide Trust in February to open discussions on the best way to allocation these additional funds.

Higher Education

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the audit procedure is to ensure that universities use Scottish Funding Council funds for initial teacher education entirely for that purpose.

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether ministers are confident that universities use funds earmarked by the Scottish Funding Council for initial teacher education for that purpose.

Michael Russell: The funding of specific provision within the higher and further education sectors is an operational matter for the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

  The SFC requires all institutions to make proper arrangements for financial management and accounting to ensure its funding is used in a manner consistent with the purpose for which it was provided.

Higher Education

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any plans by the University of Edinburgh to sell off land on the Moray House School of Education campus.

Michael Russell: We understand from the Scottish Funding Council that the estates strategy for the University of Edinburgh includes plans over the longer term to dispose of its Moray House School campus. However, as an autonomous institution, the university is responsible for managing its own estate. The Scottish Government does not have any role in such matters.

Higher Education

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any plans by the University of Strathclyde to sell off land on the Jordanhill College of Education campus.

Michael Russell: We understand from the Scottish Funding Council that the estates strategy for the University of Strathclyde includes plans over the longer term to dispose of its Jordanhill College of Education campus. However, as an autonomous institution, the University is responsible for managing its own estate. The Scottish Government does not have any role in such matters.

Homelessness

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30609 by Alex Neil on 19 January 2010, what number of applicants constitutes 5%.

Alex Neil: In 2008-09, 5% of applicants, 255 applicants per month, slept rough the night before applying for assistance. The official statistics show that the percentage of applicants under the homeless persons legislation who reported sleeping rough the night before applying for assistance has been dropping consistently over the past six years (10% of applicants in 2002-03, dropping to 5% of applicants in 2008-09.

Homelessness

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30610 by Alex Neil on 19 January 2010, whether it is satisfied that the needs of rough sleepers are being catered for and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Alex Neil: In working to achieve the broader objectives for tackling and preventing homelessness jointly agreed between the Scottish Government and COSLA, we recognise the importance of addressing rough sleeping. It is however the duty of the individual local authorities to plan how best to cater for the accommodation needs of rough sleepers and to determine the best available accommodation option for each individual case.

Influenza

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing’s statement that she expected all 1.3 million people in the priority groups to have been offered influenza A (H1N1) vaccination by Christmas 2009 ( Official Report c. 20608), for what reason there are patients in the at-risk groups still to be invited for vaccination by their GP.

Nicola Sturgeon: Health boards have indicated that vaccination has been offered to all those in the initial priority groups however a mop up exercise will continue to take place to the end of January to ensure that everyone in the initial priority groups has been invited for vaccination.

Influenza

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether pregnant women presenting for the influenza A (H1N1) vaccination can have the mercury-free cevlapan vaccine.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has given clear recommendation that both Celvapan and Pandemrix vaccines are safe for use in pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy. Both vaccines have been licensed for use in pregnant women by the European Commission and the European Medicines agency (EMEA).

  The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommend that pregnant women should be given Pandemrix as it provides adequate levels of antibodies following administration of one dose, thereby conferring more rapid protection than Celvapan which requires two doses a minimum of three weeks apart.

  Supplies of the Celvapan vaccine are limited therefore these are being reserved primarily for at-risk people with severe allergic reaction to egg products. Pandemrix is manufactured in hens eggs therefore is unsuitable for people with egg allergies, Celvapan does not contain egg products therefore is suitable for people with egg allergies.

Influenza

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when all children aged nought to five will have been offered the influenza A (H1N1) vaccination and what the uptake has been to date.

Nicola Sturgeon: The second phase of the H1N1 vaccination programme, offering vaccination to all children over six months and under five years, has commenced and will continue over the coming weeks. We anticipate that this will be completed by mid-February with mop up activity continuing until the end of February.

  Uptake figures for the second phase of the programme are not available at this early stage and will become available as the programme progresses.

Local Government

Elizabeth Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have requested a claim form from a local authority for damage to their vehicles in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Elizabeth Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have received compensation from a local authority for damage to their vehicles in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has no reason to hold this information.

Marine (Scotland) Bill

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for appeals against decisions under section 22 of the Marine (Scotland) Bill being referred to a Sheriff Court rather than the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit.

Richard Lochhead: The Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals have a key role in determining appeals to Scottish ministers arising from decisions taken by other public bodies, mainly planning authorities.

  In the present context, where an appeal is to be taken against a decision made by the Scottish ministers, it is proposed that any such appeal be heard by the courts.

Marine (Scotland) Bill

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the definition is of public authority under the Marine (Scotland) Bill.

Richard Lochhead: It is not common practice to define the term "public authority" in a bill. The absence of such a definition is in line with other legislation and not expected to cause any problems in practice.

NHS Hospitals

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much is spent per day on food for patients in (a) Glasgow Royal Infirmary, (b) Glasgow’s Western Infirmary and (c) the Southern General Hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. NHS boards may hold data regarding expenditure on food per patient but this data may not be at the level of detail or period requested.

NHS Hospitals

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on food per patient per day in each NHS board area in 2009.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government does not hold this level of information centrally. NHS boards may hold data regarding expenditure on food per patient but this data may not be at the level of detail or period requested.

Parliamentary Questions

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to questions S3W-27288, S3W-27287, S3W-26493, S3W-26492, S3W-26490, S3W-26489 and S3W-26488, which received holding replies on 11 and 29 September 2009.

John Swinney: Parliamentary questions S3W-26488, 26489, 26490, 26492, 26493, 27288 were answered on 28 October 2009 and parliamentary question S3W-27287 was answered on 8 January 2010.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Planning

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what work it has carried out to assess future workforce planning requirements for town planners.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government does not collate information centrally on the supply and demand of planners across Scotland. It is the responsibility of planning authorities to ensure that they have appropriate staff resources in place to meet their statutory responsibilities.

  The Scottish Government works does however, work with the planning schools, the RTPI, the Local Government Improvement Service and employers to encourage the availability of appropriate professional skills in the planning service.

Prison Service

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27912 by Kenny MacAskill on 22 October 2009, what measures have been taken to ensure that the composition of prison visiting committees reflect the demographics of the prison population.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The constitution and composition of prison Visiting Committees (VC) is determined by the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 - Section 8 "Visiting Committees", Section 19 "Remand centres and young offender institutions" and Section 39 "Rules for the management of prisons and other institutions" which refers to "The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 2006" which includes Schedule 2 "Constitution of Visiting Committees".

  Schedule 2 specifies that VC’s have a combined membership of elected members from either the local council in which the prison is located or councils that are served by the prison, and also non-elected members who normally reside in the same community, but can also come from further afield.

Prison Service

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27912 by Kenny MacAskill on 22 October 2009, what the name and occupations of each member of each prison visiting committee are.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The following table provides the names of the VC members for each prison. We do not hold detailed information on the occupation of VC members as many of them are nominated by local authorities. Moreover in terms of the 1995 Data Protection Act, we are unable to share such personal information.

  YO Institutions

  

HMYOI Polmont
HMYOI Cornton Vale
Friarton Hall, Perth


Alastair Mackinnon
Jim Scott
John Mangto


Robert G Mitchell
Julie McEachern
Shirley McAleer


Ian Adam OBE
Penelope Johnston
Alastiar Byres


Laurie Nauman
Jan Nicholson
Donald Millar


Dr Shirley Wherrett
Mirren Begbie
Geraldine Gallagher


Helen Finlayson
Anne Montgomery
Linda McLeod


Morag Wilson
Christine Grant
 


Marcia Ramsey
 
 


Joanna Bruntsfield
 
 


Marion Pagani
 
 


John Fraser
 
 


Gail Boardman
 
 



  Other Establishments

  

HMP Aberdeen
HMP Addiewell
HMP Barlinnie
HMP Cornton Vale


Councillor Kiddie
Andy Carmichael
Rose-Ann Cunningham
Jennifer Whyte


Councillor Leslie
Patrick Ross-Taylor
Mary Paris
June Buchanan


Karen Shirron
Bobby Lawson
Ruth Black
Neil Benny


Steven Delaney
Felix O’Hagan
Jennifer Dunn
Moira Graham


Jean Dick
Yvonne Mc Cabe
Dr Jason Ditton
Alison Lambie


George Carr
Frances McGlinchey
Frances Mc Grade
Noreen McFarlane


Sandy Wallace
Charles Hebenton
Anne Mills
Marilyn Stenhouse


Rosalyn Downes
Andy Jordan
Andrewina Wilkieson
Murray Dickie


David Wemyss
Patrick Moran
Maria Corr
Ann McFarlane


 
Vince Murray
Catherine Fallon
Provost P Reid


 
Willie Boyle
Catherine Ann Morrison
Jill McIntosh


 
Greg McCarra
Innes Nelson
Bill Srathearn


 
Janet Campbell
Tom Swinney
Lindsay Drummond


 
Frank Anderson
Gerard Mc Elroy
Anne Scott


 
Dave King
Allan Devlin
 


 
 
Marian Owens
 


 
 
Celia Lawson
 


 
 
Andy Carmichael
 


 
 
Bobby Lawson
 


 
 
Anne Desport
 


 
 
Richard Bett
 


 
 
Patrick Mc Glinchey
 


 
 
Stewart Collins
 



  

HMP Dumfries
HMP Edinburgh
HMP Glenochil
HMP Greenock


Graham Foster
K Gunn
Kenny Earle
Alexander Nimmo


Willie Scobie
D Paterson
John Biggam
Keith Brookes


Andrew Wood
B Logan
Robyn Murray
Gerry Dorian


Philip Hughes MBE
Alun Evans
Ian Robertson
Heather Roach


Robert Agnew
Rachel Peacock
Paul Owens
Anne Freebairn


Donald Beattie
G.L Allen
Bill Brown
Frank Alexander


Moira Bell
F Garwodd
Isabel Foster
Peter Walker


Jane Ingall
M Morton
Coreen McNeil
Sandy Mac Pherson


Robert Simpson
Daphne Sleigh
William Clark
 


 
Peter McKenzie
Betty Campbell
 


 
Malcolm Baker
Anne Shankland
 


 
Frank Anderson
William Mason
 


 
Thomas B Smith
Robert Freebairn
 


 
Lisa Beattie
 
 


 
Lee Thacker
 
 


 
John L Miller
 
 


 
Tom Smith
 
 



  

HMP Inverness
HMP Kilmarnock
Open Estate
HMP Perth


Councillor L Fraser
George Herbert
Peter Mullheron
Councillor D Scott


Councillor J Ford
Gillian Khun
Caroline Shiers
Councillor H Stewart


Councillor J Rosie
Gerald Alexander
Alan Muir
W Herald


Councillor M Smith
James Curry MBE
Mary Laurie
G Jain


Councillor M Paterson
Robert McDill
Prue Heriot-Maitland
N Powrie


Councillor G Sinclair
Elaine Little
Moira Joiner
S Blackwood


J Hiddleston
Peter Convery
Bruce Mackie
C Hind


P Laidlaw
Eila Maclennan
George De Gernier
S Brand


C Cameron
Jean Wilson
Neil Powrie
S Brown


Annette West
William Gibson
Charles Hebenton
S Sincalir


 
Margie Currie
Alison Andrews
M Caldwell


 
Nan Wallace
Colin Brown
J Reid


 
Alex Burns
Ivan Laird
G Samson


 
Alastair Carmichael
Anne Williams
J McAuley


 
Sylvia Black
Donald Macaskill
C Bailey


 
James Malloy
 
V Joiner


 
 
 
E Carroll


 
 
 
A Craig


 
 
 
 



  

HMP Peterhead
HMP Shotts


Theresa Wood
Paul Delaney


Stuart Pratt
John Sim


John Duncan
Alyson Milner


Alisan Norrie
Andy Jordan


Denis McHugh
Charles Hebenton


Lorna Davidson
William Golligher


William McGhee
Michael Baxter


C Leslie Robertson
Samuel Barr


 
Archie Manson


 
Andy Carmichael


 
Ian Gray


 
David McLachlan


 
Patrick Ross-taylor


 
Felix O’Hagan


 
David Taylor


 
Yvonne McCabe

Prison Service

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether planning permission has been sought for the new HMP Grampian.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  SPS are preparing to submit a planning application with Aberdeenshire Council and discussions are being held with relevant authorities including Aberdeenshire Council’s planning department. It is anticipated that the planning application will be submitted later this year.

Prison Service

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when construction of the new HMP Grampian will begin.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  It is anticipated that construction will begin in 2012.

Prison Service

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has put contracts for construction of the new HMP Grampian out to tender.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  No. This will not be done until after planning permission has been obtained.

Prison Service

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made with plans for the new HMP Grampian.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  SPS are preparing to submit a planning application with Aberdeenshire Council and discussions are being held with relevant authorities including Aberdeenshire Council’s planning department. It is anticipated that the planning application will be submitted later this year.

Public Transport

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost is of (a) electrifying and bringing into passenger use the City Union line and (b) providing an interchange at West Street subway station proposed as part of Crossrail Glasgow.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government, Transport Scotland, Network Rail, First Scotrail, Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) are currently working together to produce a plan for rail improvements in Glasgow and the West of Scotland, building on the STPR Recommendation relating to the West of Scotland Strategic Rail Enhancements and SPT’s work on the Glasgow Crossrail proposals and their Conurbation Study.

  We do not hold specific costs for the proposals in your question.

Public Transport

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to reform the regulations governing proposed changes to bus timetables by bus operators or transport companies.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has no plans at this time to amend the regulations governing changes to bus timetables.

Public Transport

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the level of protection provided for passengers by the legislative regime for bus operators wishing to change their timetables.

Stewart Stevenson: We believe that the current legislation governing changes to bus timetables as administered by the Traffic Commissioner strikes the right balance between maintaining a stable network and allowing operators to adjust services to meet commercial needs. A strength of bus as a mode of transport is its ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances when compared to fixed route modes. We also welcome partnership working between operators and local authorities that leads to increased stability of networks.

Public Transport

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the difference between the rules for rail companies wishing to change their train timetables and those for bus operators wishing to change their timetables.

Stewart Stevenson: Buses and trains work in very different operating environments. We believe that the current legislation governing changes to bus timetables as administered by the Traffic Commissioner strikes the right balance between maintaining a stable network and allowing operators to adjust services to meet commercial needs. The legislation governing rail timetable changes is necessarily less flexible given the limited capacity of the infrastructure and the number of train operators.

Public Transport

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on bringing the legislation governing the changing of bus timetables into line with that for companies operating rail services.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has no plans at this time to amend the regulations governing changes to bus timetables.

Regeneration

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it issued to Glasgow City Council on the governance arrangements required to take forward the Transformational Regeneration Area programme.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Executive has not issued any specific guidance to Glasgow City Council on the governance arrangements to take forward the Transformational Regeneration Areas, instead we have been working closely with Glasgow City Council on making progress in the Transformational Regeneration Area programme. It is for the City Council to take the lead in developing a partnership to deliver this programme. A Shadow Board to develop the right governance structure has now been established involving the Council, GHA and the Scottish Executive.

Roads

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the trunk road maintenance contracts for the south-west region will be reviewed.

Stewart Stevenson: The South West Unit trunk road maintenance contract runs from 1 April 2006 until 31 March 2011, with an option to extend until 31 March 2013.

Roads

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration has been given to returning the trunk road maintenance contracts to the public sector.

Stewart Stevenson: The trunk road maintenance contracts are competitively tendered in line with EU procurement rules. Public sector organisations are eligible to tender for these contracts, however, when the contracts were last tendered in 2005 and 2006, no public sector organisation expressed a wish to do so.

Scottish Government Staff

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time is for dealing with grievance procedures in the directorates under the responsibility of its Director-General Economy and Chief Economic Adviser.

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time is for dealing with grievance procedures in the directorates under the responsibility of its Director-General Education.

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time is for dealing with grievance procedures in the directorates under the responsibility of its Director-General Environment.

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time is for dealing with grievance procedures in the directorates under the responsibility of its Director-General Finance and Corporate Services.

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time is for dealing with grievance procedures in the directorates under the responsibility of its Director-General Health and Chief Executive of the NHS in Scotland.

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time is for dealing with grievance procedures in the directorates under the responsibility of its Director-General Justice and Communities.

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time is for dealing with grievance procedures in the directorates under the responsibility of the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Executive.

John Swinney: Under the Scottish Government’s normal grievance procedures, grievances are dealt with by the local line manager of the complainant and given the sensitivity of these matters, details of cases are not shared. Information on the average time for handling normal grievance procedures is therefore not available.

  Grievances raised under the Scottish Government’s Dignity at Work policy are co-ordinated by the HR function. Each Directorate General has very few cases and the length of time the process takes, varies depending on the complexity of the case. Across the Scottish Government as a whole, the average time to complete a grievance raised under the Dignity at Work policy, is between four to six months.

Scottish Government Staff

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants in the directorates under the responsibility of its Director-General Economy and Chief Economic Adviser initiated grievance procedures against their employer in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09.

John Swinney: Under the Scottish Government’s normal grievance procedures, grievances are handled by local line management and there is no central information available on the numbers of cases raised.

  Grievances raised under the Dignity at Work policy are coordinated within the HR function. It is therefore possible to identify the number of cases raised. The Dignity at Work grievance cases initiated in Director-General Economy and Chief Economic Adviser are set out below:

  April 2005 – March 2006 – 0 cases

  April 2006 – March 2007 – 0 cases

  April 2007 – March 2008 – 1 case

  April 2008 – March 2009 – 1 case.

Scottish Government Staff

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants in the directorates under the responsibility of its Director-General Education initiated grievance procedures against their employer in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09.

John Swinney: Under the Scottish Government’s grievance procedures, grievances are dealt with by the local line manager of the complainant. Numbers of cases are not available on a Directorate General basis and given the sensitivity of these matters details of cases are not shared. These figures are therefore not available.

  Under the Scottish Government’s normal grievance procedures, grievances are handled by local line management and there is no central information available on the numbers of cases raised.

  Grievances raised under the Dignity at Work policy are coordinated within the HR function. It is therefore possible to identify the number of cases raised. The Dignity at Work grievance cases initiated in Director-General Education are as follows:

  April 2005 – March 2006 – 1 case

  April 2006 – March 2007 – 1 case

  April 2007 – March 2008 – 1 case

  April 2008 – March 09 – 0 cases.

Scottish Government Staff

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants in the directorates under the responsibility of its Director-General Environment initiated grievance procedures against their employer in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09.

John Swinney: Under the Scottish Government’s normal grievance procedures, grievances are handled by local line management and there is no central information available on the numbers of cases raised.

  Grievances raised under the Dignity at Work policy are coordinated within the HR function. It is therefore possible to identify the number of cases raised. The Dignity at Work grievance cases initiated in Director-General Environment are as follows:

  April 2005 – March 2006 – 0 cases

  April 2006 – March 2007 – 1 case

  April 2007 – March 2008 – 0 cases

  April 2008 – March 09 – 0 cases.

Scottish Government Staff

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants in the directorates under the responsibility of its Director-General Finance and Corporate Services initiated grievance procedures against their employer in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09.

John Swinney: Under the Scottish Government’s normal grievance procedures, grievances are handled by local line management and there is no central information available on the numbers of cases raised.

  Grievances raised under the Dignity at Work policy are coordinated within the HR function. It is therefore possible to identify the number of cases raised. The Dignity at Work grievance cases initiated in Director-General Finance and Corporate Services are as follows:

  April 2005 – March 2006 – 5 cases

  April 2006 - March 2007 – 2 cases

  April 2007 – March 2008 – 0 cases

  April 2008 – March 2009 – 2 cases.

Scottish Government Staff

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants in the directorates under the responsibility of its Director-General Justice and Communities initiated grievance procedures against their employer in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09.

John Swinney: Under the Scottish Government’s normal grievance procedures, grievances are handled by local line management and there is no central information available on the numbers of cases raised.

  Grievances raised under the Dignity at Work policy are coordinated within the HR function and it is therefore possible to identify the number of cases raised. The Dignity at Work cases initiated in DG Justice and Communities are as follows:

  April 2005 to March 2006 – 0 cases

  April 2006 to March 2007 – 2 cases

  April 2007 to March 2008 – 0 cases

  April 2008 to March 2009 – 2 cases.

Scottish Government Staff

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants in the directorates under the responsibility of the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Executive initiated grievance procedures against their employer in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09.

John Swinney: Under the Scottish Government’s normal grievance procedures, grievances are handled by local line management and there is no central information available on the numbers of cases raised.

  Grievances raised under the Dignity at Work policy are coordinated within the HR function. It is therefore possible to identify the number of cases raised. The Dignity at Work grievance cases initiated in the Office of the Permanent Secretary are as follows:

  April 2005 to March 2006 – 0 cases

  April 2006 to March 2007 – 0 cases

  April 2007 to March 2008 – 0 cases

  April 2008 to March 2009 – 0 cases.

Wildlife

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its (a) plans are and (b) timescale is for replacing tags with spent batteries used in the beaver reintroduction trial.

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its plans are for tracking the two beavers that have escaped from the beaver reintroduction trial area.

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the approximate life is of the radio tag batteries used in the beaver reintroduction trial.

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the radio tags used in the beaver reintroduction trial are (a) working and (b) not working and in need of replacement.

Roseanna Cunningham: This is a matter for the bodies responsible for the Scottish Beaver Trial (the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland) in consultation with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) who are responsible for monitoring the trial, including the tracking methodologies, under the terms of the licence issued by Scottish ministers. The licence explicitly recognises the need for a suite of tracking methodologies rather than relying too heavily on radio-tracking in light of the practical and animal welfare limitations of that method.

Wildlife

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has looked at EU research on the banning of snaring.

Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government is not aware of any EU research on the banning of snaring.